Just like the past 2 or 3 years, I met up with some of my old University friends who are currently working and residing in Singapore. I never cease to be surprised at how many graduates from my faculty (SILS), regardless of nationalities, have moved to Singapore for work. Perhaps it is nothing fascinating, considering how Singapore has developed rapidly over the past decade, and how companies and workers, of all genres and specialties, started to congregate in this tiny island. Just looking at my graduating batch in the faculty, there are at least 10 people currently living in Singapore.

We were told that each guest just had to bring a food item or a bottle of wine, and I did so. Little did I expect to be treated to an extravagant full course of Spanish home-cooked food, all planned and done by our host Tsubasa. He came up with a list of recipes, scrutinizing to every detail of how each dish should be done, and had actually started preparing since the day before. More than that, there was even a lohei set to celebrate Chinese New Year, and bottles of champagne, red wine, sangria and beer to complete this grandiose house party.

The guests were all extremely interesting people, coming from several countries- Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France and Malaysia. Our backgrounds were even more diversified. For example, Tsubasa, our host and chef for the night, grew up in Spain, France, England, Japan, USA and now living in Singapore. Most of us have more than just a simple background. Nevertheless, we all had fun drinking and chatting around.

And lastly a picture of our party that night. Unfortunately, we don’t have a photo of everyone. Singapore has really changed over the years, in both positive and negative ways, the positive side being how it has attracted such a rich variety of people, allowing us to make friends from all over the world. I’m already looking forward to the next gathering!